Sensory Deprivation - Float Tanks and the Floathouse

I work in a Float Center, and thus have the perk of using this incredible service on the regular. As an frequent, twice daily meditator, I look forward to my floats for the boost to my happy place in my one hour of timeless space.

At the Floathouse, you have options and levels to your experience. The tanks have beautiful color changing cycles that can stay on, or be switched off. There is a benefit to color therapy so don't think that if you're not quite ready for absolute darkness that leaving the lights on is taking away from the floating and relaxation, it's just a different layer and level you choose to be at.

There is also the option for music, and the music played is a deep journey of sound healing, and I definitely recommend trying the audio track on at least one of your visits. I love binural beats and sound therapy, and the track played resonates in the water and almost causes ripples of sound to completely surround you in a unique experience.

I remember my first float, it was at our downtown location, and I was in awe of how beautiful and clean and almost futuristic the actual center itself was, from the giant living plant wall, to the little tea lounge, offering kombucha, it was an appealing place to relax and know you are in a very serene environment.

This is how I can tell how much i've grown and changed, since my first float i left lights and sound fully on and even then was unsure how this was supposed to be great for meditation since i was a little nervous being in a pod and thought maybe i missed something or i wasn't doing it right. Even through all that over thinking, I left feeling calmer, peaceful, and well rested. There was something about knowing someone else is taking care of you, a preset timer, so you can just actually do nothing, but focus on doing more of nothing! It takes practice and patience with yourself, to let go of judgement and pressure to achieve.

I always tell clients to go in with no expectations, everyone has their own float path, and some people organize in mind maps to relax, the tank gives them the freedom and clarity to create and design in their mind, see the flow to their ideas and connect the dots.

Some people go in and feel a complete sense of nothinginess, unity with everything, a nirvana, a no where, no body, no one, a meditative state.

And it's unfortunate that float tanks are not covered under our extended medical, because aside from the plethora of mental health benefits, floating is, i'd say, essential for our physical health and wellbeing.

The tanks are filled with 1200lbs of Magnesium Sulphate, more commonly known as Epsom Salts. The tanks are warmed to body temperature, allowing the transdermal absorbtion of the magnesium to nourish your cells and tissues. This way of accessing the mineral is more bioavaliable to the body then ingesting a supplement, our skin is the largest organ of our body and at room temp, it just soaks up what it needs at the molecular level during a float. The body optimizes the levels of magnesium so there is never any chance of over absorption in extended floats.

Actually salt and baths have been uses for centuries, roman baths, thalassotherapy (therapy of the sea) for wellbeing and muscle recovery. Swollen, sore or injured athletes always utilize the properties of magnesium for soothing and facilitating healing.

Magnesium is one of the most depleted minerals in our soil, and therefore one that is usually highly deficient in our diets. This deficiency has been linked to a wide scope of hormonal, emotional and physical ailments. Magnesium is responsible for the functioning of all our cells and therefore we need it, and floating provides it.

To sum it up, this post is a super short summary of a basic reason to try floating.

I hope you do, and I hope you go more then once, there's layers we don't know we have, and they start to show when you allow yourself the space to just be and experience nothing. ;)